Ex-Red Wing Filip Zadina gets terrible news
The former Round 1 draft selection hasn't been able to hack it at the NHL level.
To say that things have not worked out for former Detroit Red Wings Round 1 Draft selection Filip Zadina would be a crazy understatement, and he was recently dealt his latest setback.
The San Jose Sharks, whom he signed with last season after being released from Detroit, did not tender him a qualifying contract offer. He's now a free agent once again.
Zadina came into the NHL with high expectations after being selected with the 6th overall pick in 2018 by the Red Wings (one pick ahead of former Michigan Wolverine and newly-named Norris Trophy winning defenseman Quinn Hughes) but never lived up to the potential he was thought to have possessed.
Red Wings fans will always remember Zadina's promise to make teams like the Montreal Canadiens and Ottawa Senators regret passing on him by "filling their nets with pucks". But his prediction never came to fruition, with only 28 goals scored in 190 career games with the Red Wings.
Last season on a poor Sharks squad, he had a somewhat respectable stat line of 13 goals and 10 assists in 72 games, though those are hardly the kind of numbers expected from a 6th overall pick who was expected to produce meaningful offense.
Will he get another opportunity in the NHL or will he have to face the possibility of returning overseas to continue his professional hockey career?
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